Changes
by larmar61
Summary: What could have gone very different at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament? A Gobul fic that's canon up until 'Changes' episode 133 of Dragonball


disclaimer: i dont own dragonball, dragonball z or any of the characters, enjoy :)

Chapter 1: Changes

An earthy aroma filled the air, rain meeting dry soil. Shielded by the protection of a blue umbrella stood a beautiful woman, berry toned hair and gentle features. Beside her was a shorter, older man wearing an infamous pair of red sunglasses.

"They're late, all of them." Said the woman – Launch, worry plastered across her face.

"Let's hope it didn't slip their minds, I didn't have a chance to remind them." The man – none other than Master Roshi, was clearly troubled.

"Don't fret. I doubt any of them would forget this."

"It has been three years, that's a long time."

A cab slid up in front of the pair, and out climbed a pig and a cat. The shapeshifters greeted their friends eagerly, as the third paid and exited the vehicle in all her glory.

Bulma Briefs, Heir to Capsule Corporation, gracefully bypassed the ogling Roshi and made a break for one of her closest – and only, female friends.

"Woah, Launch! Has it really been three years?"

"Bulma!"

"Have the uh, boys arrived yet?"

"Not yet."

"What do you think of my new dress?" A skintight purple number, cozily unharmed underneath the matching in colour umbrella.

"It's absolutely stunning."

At that moment the Hermit decided to but in, "It certainly fits in all the right places. Is that cashmere? Let me feel."

Bravely reaching out, he groped Bulma's behind and was quickly met with the furiously furrowed brow of said woman, a striking difference from the previous twinkling eyes and bright smile.

She pulled her elbow back and knocked it into his face as hard as she could manage, which in Roshi's opinion, was pretty damn hard, "Hands off, Roshi! You haven't changed one bit."

After the few painful minutes of recovery, the moans and groans sobered into confusion, "By the way, do you know what happened to Yamcha? I thought he was coming with you?"

"He did return to West City for a short while, but he left again soon after." Oolong offered the explanation, followed by Puar's.

"He left to train all by himself."

"That's right. By himself." Bulma growled out.

Roshi mused, hand on his chin, "So did Krillin, he never came back afterwards. They grew up. Followed Goku's example and set out on their own."

An orange bunny shaped balloon floated by, catching the attention of the five friends, followed by the cries of a young girl.

"There now don't cry little girl, I'll get your balloon down for you." Bulma pats her head, a quick working source of comfort for the now grinning child.

Bulma stretches and groans, "Oolong why don't you give it a try?"

"What do you want? If you can't reach it what makes you think I can?"

"Couldn't you turn yourself into a ladder or something?"

"Aw, but it's raining."

Master Roshi offers to give Bulma a boost, but is turned down immediately with a harsh, "Yeah right!"

A blue clad arm snakes up behind Bulma, easily reaching the string of the balloon and yanking it down.

"Hey guys." Greeted the stranger from behind a red umbrella.

"Is this a friend of yours?" Roshi asked Bulma.

It seemed no one knew the identity of the mysterious stranger.

"Here you are, Bulma." Goku handed the balloon off and Bulma passed it onto the waiting girl who hurriedly skipped off.

"Who- how do you know who I am?"

"Master Roshi, I'm pleased to see you again. All of you are looking well." Again from the stranger, arousing even more confusion.

"Eh? Master?" The Hermit was baffled.

"Where are Krillin and the others? Haven't they arrived yet?" All at once it clicked after the final statement made by the stranger.

"You… can't be!"

"G-Goku?!"

"Huh? Of course it's me, who else would I be?"

Amidst the wide eyes and gaping mouths, the rain cleared, producing a semi-clear sky with the lingering scent of dew.

"Maybe we'll see the sun today after all." Goku puts his umbrella down and removes his headwrap, reviling the all too familiar spikes of black hair that defy gravity. Gasps are heard all around.

"Who else but me has hair like this?"

In only a few long strides he stands in front of his oldest and for a time, only friend, "Funny, I remember you being a lot taller."

"And you used to be much shorter."

"Yeah well I guess I've grown since you last saw me," Goku rubs the back of his neck, "Uh, Bulma? It looks like your lips are bleeding." He reached out to touch them but stopped just a fracture short.

Bulma, in a daze, raises a perfectly manicured finger to touch her lips, "It's lipstick Goku."

"Oh! Well it looks nice on you Bulma."

Smirks were shared between the four bystanders of the unusually calm interaction.

Bulma was still registering her shock of the tall, broad shouldered man standing in front of her being Goku. The same Goku she had nearly run over with her motorcycle all those years ago.

"ATTENTION! LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS. I REPEAT, LAST CALL FOR APPLICATIONS." The megaphone snapped her out of the daze she was trapped in, but before a word could leave her red lips, Goku was gone.

As he makes his way to the sign in table, Roshi utters a quiet, "I can't believe it, it's just amazing."

"It's unbelievable! Who would've thought Goku could grow up to be so tall and handsome?" Bulma gushed, eyes not once leaving the subject of conversation himself.

Puar fell over from shock into a disgruntled Oolong, "Just wait until Yamcha gets here, I'll bet he looks even better!"

"Yeah…" Bulma trailed off, still lost in thought.

Once Goku returned, the now group of six trailed over to the brick wall of the entrance, anxiously awaiting the remaining four friends that had yet to show.

"THE APPLICATION BOOTH WILL SOON BE CLOSING. THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SIGNED IN PLEASE HURRY!"

Master Roshi walked to the table, desperately trying to negotiate a way to sign in the missing foursome.

"THE APPLICATION BOOTH WILL BE CLOSING IN 3 MINUTES."

"Ugh, great." Bulma's eyes searched through the crowd.

"Don't worry." Goku reassured, taking her by surprise and stealing her thoughts back to him.

Bulma paced, both in worry for her friends and worry for her attraction to a certain boy.

Said boy remained calm, leaning against the brick wall and eyes trailing Bulma as she furiously did laps in front of him, glancing over every so often.

A dejected Puar flew back, seeing no sign of their missing friends.

"WE CLOSE IN ONE MINUTE!"

Goku stood straight, eyes narrowed with a smirk, "It's time."

A sudden gust of wind blew by and the group whipped around to see the smirking faces none other than Yamcha, Chiaoutzu, Tien and Krillin.

"Hey."

"Yamcha!" Puar shot faster than a bullet into his arms.

Goku greeted the four, "This is wonderful, we're all together again."

A tearful reunion between Krillin and Goku followed as Tien and Yamcha stayed back, quietly discussing between themselves.

"That's Goku? I can hardly believe it, he's grown up so much."

Tien couldn't help but smirk, "Yes and his power must have grown as well."

"Mhm, he was strong but not he must be invincible."

"This should be an interesting tournament."

Roshi waved them over, "I've made hotel reservations for all of us, so why don't we go get comfortable."

"Great! Thanks Master Roshi." The group chorused.

They began the track to the hotel, Roshi leading the way with Tien and Bulma bringing up the rear with Oolong.

"Oolong I just can't get over how much Goku's changed, don't you just love his new look." Bulma shamelessly bit her bottom lip as she dragged her eyes down his body.

"Ugh," an eyeroll followed, "do I look like a gossip guru?"

"Earth to Goku," Krillin began as he sat on his bed in their shared hotel room, "something wrong?"

"I'm fine. Hey Krillin? Bulma sure is pretty, isn't she?" Goku smiled as he turned to face his friend, tucking his arm beneath his head.

Krillin's eyes widened "Well sure. Bulma's always been beautiful, why the sudden notice Goku? Do you like Bulma?"

"Of course I like Bulma, don't be silly Krillin." A laugh followed but died out once he noticed the serious expression on Krillin's face.

"Goku, I mean do you _like_ _like_ Bulma."

"_Like like_? What's the difference between once and twice?"

"Well uh," Krillin blushed, certainly not prepared to be having this discussion, "well when two people _like like_ each other they uh, do things like kiss and hold hands and uh, and get married and have babies…" He drawled off at the confused looking Goku.

"Married? Is that some kind of fruit?"

Krillin sweat dropped.

"No Goku, it's a big ceremony that happens and then you live with the woman you married for the rest of your life."

"Oh! That all doesn't sound so bad," Goku scratched the back of his head, "especially if it's with Bulma. Say Krillin, does Bulma _like like_ me?"

"Well gee Goku I wouldn't know, you'd have to ask her."

"Ok that's easy! Well, night Krillin." Within a moment the snoring started.

"This Tournament sure is off to a crazy start." Krillin murmured as he settled down to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would hold.

The early morning sunshine was bright, birds were chirping, and the air was fresh. Quite the contrast to the previous day. A group of 10 were cramped into the small lobby of the hotel, debating on what to do for breakfast before setting of for the anxiously awaited preliminaries.

"I am starved!" Goku stood on the tips of his toes, edging closer and closer to the exit.

Oolong snorted, "I'll say. Let's get out of here already, we can meet up at the entrance of the tournament."

A murmur of agreement went through the small crowd, before Tien and Chiaoutzu, followed by Yamcha, Puar and Launch took off to the east.

Master Roshi, Oolong and Krillin headed west, leaving a desperate Goku an amused Bulma standing in the shaded building.

"Come on, we'll head over to the breakfast buffet. Kami knows no where else will be able to handle you."

"That's a great idea Bulma, let's go!" Goku grabbed Bulma's arm and hastily made a break for the buffet. Bulma, caught off guard, stumbled and couldn't help but giggle at Goku, how she'd missed her friend.

They took their seats, and while waiting for their food Goku grinned, eyes squinted, "You sure look pretty today Bulma."

All she could do was stare blankly at the boy, pink lips gaping.

'_Wow, Goku sure is a charmer. What has gotten into him – into me! We've known each other for years, and now that he's grown up, I can barely hold a conversation. He's just so different, so tall, and buff and dreamy…'_

"Bulma?"

She snapped out of her daydream, closing her mouth before giggling, "Well thanks, you sure don't look bad yourself."

With that their food arrived, and Bulma, now used to the astonishing way Goku inhaled food was fully prepared for the onslaught of hurried waiters.

Finishing his last glass of milk and sighing, Goku pipped up once again catching Bulma by surprise, "Bulma, do you _like like _me?" His wide, innocent eyes were unabashedly gazing into her even wider ones.

"Huh?!"

"Well you see, Krillin helped me realise that I _like liked _you. And that when people _like like _each other they get to do things like hold hands, and kiss – I'm not sure what that second one is," He tapped his chin thoughtfully before regaining his eager expression, "and Krillin said that I had to ask if you _like liked_ me back, so do you Bulma?"

To say she was flustered was an understatement, flushed cheeks, mouth gaping, statue still and a stuttering mess.

"W-well Goku I–" she paused, taking in the practically bouncing boy across from her and really diving deep into her thoughts.

When she finally settled, a small smile gracing her features and softly spoke, "Yeah, I do."

Goku stood, almost dancing in glee and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and not letting go.

"Come on, we should go meet the others." He tugged on her hand gently, sending a grin her way and leading them to the entrance of the preliminaries.

"Master, did you remember to bring my uniform along?"

"No Goku, your old uniform no longer suits you. Both in size and stature. You've all surpassed my lessons, what you wear is your own." As he adjusted his red sunglasses, his three former pupils smiled.

"Thanks!"

Bulma stood with Launch, hands on her hips while gazing at Goku, '_He's really grown so much, I never expected to be having feelings like this for him, but he's always been full of surprises.'_

As Bulma mused, Goku started to make his way into the building, although not before beaming and waving directly at her, "Wish me luck!"

The others all noticed this exchange but didn't think much of it, all bar Krillin. As he, Goku and Yamcha all showed off their new matching uniforms, he started, "So Goku, how did it go with Bulma?"

Yamcha's brows shot up in confusion, as Goku chuckled, "It went great! I asked her and she said yes, we even held–" Before he could finish, his back straightened and his head whipped to the side.

'_Piccolo, I knew you'd show up sooner or later…'_


End file.
